Confused New Member

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ppsking

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I will probably get death threats for starting this forum again, but I am so confused right now. :confused:

A Telkom ADSL connection (3Gb cap @ 384kbps, plus ISP) will cost me almost the same as an Iburst connection (also 3Gb). I need some pro's and con's of both. Yes-yes, I know Telkom and all their problems and excuses, but my question is that "is it not better the devil you know"? ;)

I am your average internet surfer for information, newsgroups, etc, and then a maniac when it comes to downloading funny movie clips. Are there any limitations or problems (except for the cap) on Iburst? And what about sending emails with 4-6Mb attachments (I'm sending stats weekly, and can't afford to be slowed down or disconnected).

Fire away on the critics and positives. And remember, I'n new to this, so let's keep the technical names at a minimum....:D
 
I am a happy iBurster....

I think iBurst is faster (If you have reception)
I have had no downtime
24 Hour setup was a big win for me
Month 2 Month contracts are good just incase something else comes about.
I only send mail using Gmail and have no problems sending large files
I download movie clips as well and never had a problem

I have heard it can be dependant on the weather but have not run into that problem yet.

Biggest positives? Speed and Not Telkom
They have reps on this forum if the helpdesk does not help
 
Imo

Copper will always be more consistent and reliable. Iburst... well, I guess it must be nicer if you have a notebook. Not sure of the bandwidth differences tho. If you go the telkom route, you may want to consider another upstream provider - Verizon (better bandwidth, unshaped, 3Gb cap or pay per meg) - IS, 30Gb local cap, 3Gb intl. cap, satellite international (less reliable, higher latency, but unshaped as well - good). Telkom standard is shaped horribly, telkom unshaped is more expensive than either Verizon or IS.

Oh yes... 6 weeks for my installation~!:(
 
Make sure you are in an area with good reception. Your will have endless complaints if you do not have proper signal strength.

If you're not happy with the service, you can return the hardware within seven days and get a refund, try that with Telkom!
 
only drawback of adsl (besides high prices!) is that it can take a while until you get it. Other than that, modem for adsl + install is <1,000, vs. iBurst modem which is R2,000+. adsl is also month to month so in that aspect is the same. For 1 year having ADSL, there has been no downtime.

iBurst experience varies from "absolute awesome" for some, to "disasterous" for me, so if you consider yourself lucky, you can try it :D
 
thorin1 said:
Iburst... well, I guess it must be nicer if you have a notebook.
Click to expand...

Given how much reliance there is on having a good signal, I'm not sure that Iburst is an effective mobile solution. For mobility I would rather use a cellular provider than Iburst. But, if properly installed, it's a very viable alternative to a fixed line. And I am far happier dealing with Iburst than I would have been dealing with Telkom.
 
AFAIK iBurst themselves call themselves a fixed wireless solution.

If you are driving around MTN or Vodacom win by miles....
 
Iburst has been an absolute blast for me over my first 4 months.

The fact that you get all you stuff and account activation within 24 hrs ROCKS!!!! with no additional antena I get on avg 600-800 kb/s connection, download speeds I've experienced on that could be up to 110kb/s.

If you through in a router on this whole setup, you will have a very enjoyable time (if you have sufficient signal). Get one of your iburst buddies to bring their hardware to your house if you want to check it first, or you could pay for a site inspection.
 
I noticed that I am in a zone that falls under the 252kbps, with planned upgrade to 525kbps. There is a 1000kbps area about 4km from my house. Will I be able to reach (at least) the 525kbps with an antenna before upgrade?

I guess I'll have to pay for a site inspection, as I do not have Iburst buddies yet.
 
ppsking said:
I guess I'll have to pay for a site inspection, as I do not have Iburst buddies yet.
Click to expand...
Check up on any resellers in your area. Some do free inspections...

Since moving from a barely covered area to about 2kms from the tower, I've had no complaints at all.
 
And when you were in a barely covered area, how was your speed and reliability? How will I know where my closest tower is? Is there somewhere a list, or should I just look at their map and see where the dark green spots are?

Raithlin: are you using an antenna? And if so, which one? Don't want the reseller the cheat me into a more expensive one!
 
This whole antenna business concerns me.

I've done a number of installations and have never needed to get customer to buy an antenna, the thing just works, when there are problems 99% of the time the fault is with TELKOM or the customer's customer.

The maps on iburst.co.za are a crock of ****, I've plotted out my own maps by doing signal measurements in the areas I work in and overlaid it on clean and neat MapStudio maps for my own purposes.

I've solved a lot of signal problems with proper placement of the UTD and performance problems using a decent router with tweaked settings.
 
Last edited:
JTech said:
This whole antenna business concerns me.

I've done a number of installations and have never needed to get customer to buy an antenna, the thing just works, when there are problems 99% of the time the fault is with TELKOM or the customer's customer.

The maps on iburst.co.za are a crock of ****, I've plotted out my own maps by doing signal measurements in the areas I work in and overlaid it on clean and neat MapStudio maps for my own purposes.

I've solved a lot of signal problems with proper placement of the UTD and performance problems using a decent router with tweaked settings.
Click to expand...


do you wanna share the "tweaked settings" as i am in a no signal zone "12km" from my kempton tower and i am running a external antenna that gives me a -98db signal and without the external antenna i dont even get connected to the tower.
 
And there you have it.

I was about to have an iBurst techie come over to my place (had the call logged, the techie phoned to book a time) when I moved house.

I was in a white/green area - on the very edge of reception, and in a valley to boot. Reception was 2-3 LEDs, and on a good day I got 22Kb/s. Bad days the connection was unusable. That said, I never had any help in finding the best spot for the UTD, and I wasn't prepared to put it outside/in the roof, as some suggest.
 
I have never worked in the East Rand with iBurst. I was referring mainy to the West Rand and areas in JHB like Brixton. I don't know what the conditions are like there so I cannot comment. However 12km is not far, I am quite surprised that you have no signal at all without external antenna.

tweaks I have are for conditions when signal is satisfactory and the thing performs horribly and stuff like that.
 
How would Telkom be blamed for a bad iBurt connection?

I hate Telkom as much as the next person but I think this is a bit mean :)...

My Antenna made the world of difference, my Study has no windows so I had a terrible signal. Put the antenna in the roof and tweaked the direction with the help of uTraceStar and now I sit on a constant -78Db connection...

400Kbs --> 900Kbs connection...
 
How would Telkom be blamed for a bad iBurt connection?
Click to expand...

I have a customer that gets their mail from a company that hosts their website and also provides them with telnet access to a mainframe. Their mail goes down as well as the system and every single time it's a problem at SAIX a.k.a. Telkom. Basestation outages on the Brixton tower have always been TELKOM problems. iBurst told me so aswell. Telkom provides the LINKS to the basestations from iburst's core network.

The antenna certainly has it's applications... but I often try to get away without using it and have done so many times with good results.
 
So if I understand you all correct now, I don't necessarily need to be in a dark green area to be able to get great signals? If I'm about 5km away from this zone I can get great coverage without an antenna?

And can somebody tell me why the colours on the Iburst map is scattered? You will have a 1km square covered at 0.525mbps right in the middle of a 0.226mbps covering an area of 5km square! Should the area around the tower not be equily covered?
 
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